L: Blood on the Ice
by BlueWolf1923
Summary: young women are being murdered, butchered on the streets of Windhelm, and the Jarl is too busy with the civil war to hunt down the culprit. Ulfric Stormcloak turns to the greatest detectve in Tamriel for assistance with these macabre killings. Based on the Skyrim quest of the same name, one-shot. does NOT tie in with L am Dragonborn.


L: Blood on the Ice

Author's Note: I own neither Death Note nor Skyrim. This story is about the Skyrim quest "Blood on the Ice" and how L might handle it. No promises, but I might expand this into a big story with L as the Dragonborn.

X

L wandered the snowy streets of Windhelm with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, which he had custom made. He hated Windhelm, because he hated having to wear shoes. It was rather unpleasant to walk barefoot on the frozen stone and snowdrifts of Windhelm, but a rather interesting murder case had been brought to his attention by Ulfric Stormcloak, current Jarl of Windhelm. Someone had killed three young women, and taken their bodies, or rather, most of their bodies. What alias would he use for this case? Perhaps something resembling a Breton name, he wouldn't pass for a Nord, nor any type of elf. Yes, he would be a Breton this time.

The graveyard, as expected, contained bodies, but one was neither buried nor being buried. The young woman had a rather awful wound on her stomach, and it appeared as though the intestine had been removed. A few citizens were gathered around the body, along with a guard. "hello, could you perhaps explain what has happened here?" he asked as he approached the guard.

"another Butcher killing," responded the guard, his voice slightly muffled through his helmet. "this'd be the fourth one. The guards can't keep up, between this, the dragons, and those damned Imperials."

"keep up? Have you failed to notice the blood trail leading directly from the scene?" L nodded to the path that was practically paved with blood.

"oh, uh, I guess that could… I mean, the helmet doesn't allow a good view…""get a better helmet, then. Might I recommend Orcish?" before the guard could respond, L cut him off. "no matter. You seem to be able to hear fine. While I investigate the trail, question these witnesses."

"the man's a murderer, and you're not exactly a warrior," the guard replied. "shouldn't you have backup?"

"nonsense. Someone needs to question the witnesses, and you can't concretely prove you are not the Butcher. You ignored the blood trail, walk around heavily armed with a covered face, and just happened to be lurking at the scene of the crime. The criminal always returns to the scene."

"well, I assure you…""that said, I don't believe for a moment that you could be the Butcher. You couldn't evade that tombstone, much less the entire Windhelm Guard. Now, if you'll excuse me…" L proceeded to follow the trail of blood, wincing at the cold wind that struck him in the face.

"well, wherever this trail leads," he mumbled aloud, "it's not to this criminal's residence. No, more likely it's a lair he uses to conduct his killings, an empty, locked building, perhaps. It's also likely he possesses the key, meaning he may well have killed the owner, but this last bit is just speculation."

L stopped in front of the large mansion, Hjerim, and nodded. It made sense. In fact, L had heard the previous owner had been a young woman, consistent with the Butcher's other kills. He looked around, and, seeing no one, he pulled a lockpick and tension wrench from his pocket, quickly picking the lock and opening the door.

Inside was a god-awful mess of blood. L, however, had seen a fair amount of blood during his past few months, which he had spent in Skyrim. He walked past the blood, and immediately noted the only untouched furniture, being a table and a few cabinets across the room. He went to these, and found a stack of folded notes, which he then crouched in front of. Upon further examination, these proved to be flyers warning of the Butcher and his evils, likely torn down by the killer himself. "Viola Giordano. Well, there's one lead." L dug further into the pile, noting its odd shape, and found an amulet hidden within. The amulet was round and black, with a green skull embossed on its front. "ah, so the killer uses this particular part of the house as his base." L stood, and looked around. He opened both wardrobes, and found one empty, with a suspiciously loose back panel. By sliding this to the right, L found a hidden room with a stone altar covered in human body parts. "only in Skyrim…" he grumbled. He found a diary too, whose contents at least revealed a little of the Butcher's motives. He intended to rebuild a human being who had died, likely a family member or a lover, through necromancy of the highest levels. L could only think of two people who would be likely to know about the amulet, namely the court mage Wuunferth, and the local eccentric, Calixto Corrium.

All that mattered was which order he visited them in. "hmm…" if Wuunferth, a rumoured necromancer, was in fact the Butcher, L would need to use the amulet as evidence, and any analysis Wuunferth gave of it would likely point away from himself. So, L decided to head to Calixto's House of Curiosities first.

He opened the door under a red sunrise, returned his hand to his pocket, and pulled the amulet out with a thumb and forefinger. "Mr. Corrium, would you please identify this amulet and its origin?"

"huh?" Calixto, apparently sleepy, took the amulet and examined it. "this is a Wheelstone, the amulet worn by Windhelm's court mage for centuries. Where did you find it?"

"in Hjerim, which is now a crime scene." L crouched in a seat by Calixto's table, noting the sweat running down Calixto's face, even in this unholy cold. "so, the Wheelstone. Any comment on the apparent skull motif?"

"I don't know Windhelm's history as well as I might like, but I'd presume the original wearer was a necromancer."

"and perhaps the current wearer…"

"oh, I see. You think Wuunferth is the Butcher."

"not exactly. At this point, it's only about a twenty-percent chance."

"and who gets the other eighty?"

"mostly you, Mr. Corrium." L took back the amulet, as Calixto's hands went limp in shock. "you don't look well, did you get enough sleep last night?"

"sir, I don't even know your name, yet you obviously know mine. Regardless I can assure you I am no necromancer, nor a murderer."

"my name is Hideki Druanach, but that's hardly relevant. What is, however, is that I have another two leads. If either of these give me additional reason to suspect either you or Wuunferth, I will have a true suspect. Good day."

"wait…" L paid Calixto no heed, even as the man became faintly desperate to buy the necklace. L showed no emotion, but he was smug inside. Yes, it was a definite eighty percent now.

X

"necromancy? How dare you!" Wuunferth seethed.

"well, I found this amulet at the scene. Apparently it's a Wheelstone, a mark of the court mage of Windhelm." L held up the amulet, and Wuunferth snatched it.

"I've never heard of anything called a Wheelstone, but I can tell you without doubt that this is the ancient Necromancer's Amulet. Where did you hear it called a Wheelstone?""Calixto Corrium gave it that name." yes, ninety-five percent.

"Calixto…" Wuunferth considered this. "even the best of us make mistakes," he said, his tone softening. "this one, I'll admit, is unusual, but I certainly wouldn't conclude that Calixto intentionally sent you after me, mister…""Druanach."

"Mr. Druanach. If you want, take this amulet directly to Jarl Ulfric. He'll tell you himself it has nothing to do with the court mage."

L took back the amulet. "your willingness to allow Ulfric Stormcloak to determine this amulet's origin is enough evidence. If you are not the Butcher, then I know who is." ninety-nine percent likely. L left, amulet in hand, and returned to Calixto's shop. "you mentioned wanting to buy this?"

"yes, without doubt. A Wheelstone is a valuable relic, it'll look great in my collection. How does 500 gold sound?"

"deal," L said, and took the sack of gold. He, however, carefully heated his hand with Destruction magic as he gripped the door handle. A touch of his index finger, and the lock in the door was irreparably melted. Child's play, it was too easy. He simply waited until nightfall, and pushed the door open. Calixto was sleeping, exhausted from stalking and killing a woman the previous night. This left L free to pick his pockets for an always helpful key. On his way to the stairs leading to the attic, L noticed a shelf of oddities. Ysgramor's soup spoon didn't interest him at all, but the Book of Fate did. He picked it up and flipped through it. Blank… maybe this meant it was intended for writing, not reading. L stole the book, noting that a book that could control someone's fate was immensely useful. He then continued to the attic, opened the locked chest with Calixto's key, and searched it for evidence. What he found was another Butcher journal, similar to the one from Hjerim. What pinged for L was the handwriting, though. It was identical to that of the Butcher. L took this, left the key on Calixto's table, and walked calmly out of Calixto's house.

Upon return to the Palace of the Kings, he presented his evidence to Wuunferth, who was rather upset at being woken. "damn you, Druanach, what is it?"

"I have evidence of Calixto's guilt, but I want your cooperation to conclude the case."

"what…" Wuunferth shook his head. "what do you want me to do?""we are going to publicly accuse you of being the Butcher, and lock you up, but to ensure no treachery, you will have the key to your own cell. I will tail Calixto, day and night. He'll think he's off the hook with you imprisoned in his place, but he'll know that if another kill is discovered, you'll be freed and he'll be the sole remaining suspect. This pressure will make him tense and sloppy. The moment he draws his weapon, I'll take him down, hopefully alive, and bring him to justice."

"can we do this tomorrow? I'm exhausted."

"yes. At noon, you will head to the forge and request a Dwarven dagger made. I'll then enter, flanked by guards, and have you arrested. Naturally, these guards will be in on the plan."

X

"I swear, I'm innocent! I've never killed anyone, ever!" Wuunferth pleaded.

"oh? Then what of this? A dagger, fresh from the forge and razor-sharp for dicing your victims!"

L resisted the urge to grin. Wuunferth was playing his part to perfection, and there was Calixto, in the crowd, gaping with disbelief. "justice always prevails. Take him away." the guards led Wuunferth to the prison, leaving L and Calixto in the crowd. L looked at Calixto, Calixto looked at L. Finally, L cracked a smirk and waved, then left… or appeared to. He tailed Calixto to his house, and listened contently from outside, to Calixto's growl of frustration, which turned to a roar when he found the Book of Fate missing. "it'll have to be tonight… I have almost everything I need. One more kill… it can't hurt to run a couple days ahead of schedule." L, satisfied, took a seat on a barrel near Calixto's door.

At around midnight, Calixto opened the door, and L chugged the invisibility potion he had ready. Calixto was wearing the amulet, which was apparently the Necromancer's Amulet and not the Wheelstone. He targeted and tailed a High Elf woman whom L knew, her name was Arivanya. She turned and screamed as she saw Calixto approach with a dagger. L roared, "hey, Butcher! Behind you!"

Calixto froze, as Arivanya fled in terror. He turned, and saw nothing, until L dropped to his hands and one foot, striking Calixto in the face with his other foot, his favorite way to kick someone. This of course broke the invisibility spell, making L visible. Calixto swiped at L with his dagger, but L disarmed him by striking his hand with a weak lightning bolt. He then crouched next to Calixto, who clutched his hand. "I hope you can write with that hand, because I need your signature as a final piece of evidence. Otherwise, you may still not be the Butcher, just a man with a grudge against Arivanya." he handed Calixto a piece of charcoal, and opened the Book of Fate. "please write your name here.""you! You stole the book!"

"yes. Not that it particularly matters. It's just a blank book, until you sign it, at which point it becomes evidence of your crime, not mine."

"why do you need my signature anyway?" he asked, as he signed the Book of Fate.

L retracted his arm and closed the book. "comparing your handwriting to that in the Butcher's journal is further evidence that you are the Butcher. Now, we're going to the Palace of the Kings. Oh, and Wuunferth was never truly arrested. It was an act you fell for," L concluded as he hauled Calixto to his feet. For such a thin, frail-looking young man, L was surprisingly strong.

Calixto shook off L's grip and stumbled forward, twisting his ankle and falling to his knees. He cried out in pain, and foamed at the mouth as he died of a heart attack.

L took a step backward. He looked down at the Book of Fate in his right hand. How long had it been since Calixto wrote his name? A minute? No, forty seconds at most. Perhaps this was the function of the Book of Fate. "anyone whose name is written in the Book of Fate shall die in forty seconds." it seemed farfetched, but worth looking into. For now, however, L simply headed for the Palace of the Kings, to tell Wuunferth and Ulfric it was over, and Windhelm could return to normal. Case closed, mystery solved, justice served.

And yet, the circumstances of Calixto's death intrigued L. A Book of Fate… or a Book of Death?

X

Author's Note: in the actual game, Calixto signed the Butcher journal found in his house. For obvious reasons, I omitted that bit. Oh, and the Book of Fate doesn't control fate, just shows it.


End file.
